Urban air pollution may make COVID-19 more severe for some

As the pandemic persists, COVID-19 has claimed more than 200,000 lives in the United States and damaged the public health system and economy. In a study published on September 21 in the journal The Innovation, researchers at Emory University found that long-term exposure to urban air pollution may have made COVID-19 more deadly.

Samsung flags near-60% operating profit jump after Huawei boost

Samsung Electronics flagged a leap of nearly 60 percent in third-quarter operating profits Thursday, as its mobile and chip business were boosted by US sanctions against its Chinese rival Huawei.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-samsung-flags-near-profit-huawei.html

Hurricane Delta lashes Mexico, heads towards US

Hurricane Delta regained strength as it headed towards the United States early Thursday after lashing Mexico's Caribbean coast, where some tourists complained about conditions in crowded emergency shelters during a pandemic.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-hurricane-delta-lashes-mexico.html

New algorithm sharpens focus of world's most powerful microscopes

We've all seen that moment in a cop TV show where a detective is reviewing grainy, low-resolution security footage, spots a person of interest on the tape, and nonchalantly asks a CSI technician to "enhance that." A few keyboard clicks later, and voila—they've got a perfect, clear picture of the suspect's face. This, of course, does not work in the real world, as many film critics and people on the internet like to point out.

Renewable player overtakes ExxonMobil in market value

After decades of embracing fossil fuels, Wall Street appears to be shifting its allegiance to renewable energy, a sharp turn apparent in the contrasting fortunes of NextEra Energy and Exxon Mobil.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-renewable-player-exxonmobil.html

EasyJet flies into first annual loss

EasyJet expects a pre-tax loss of up to £845 million for its fiscal year just ended as coronavirus travel restrictions slam passenger demand, the British no-frills airline said Thursday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-easyjet-flies-annual-loss.html

Women are more concerned about COVID-19 than men, study finds

A Dartmouth-Gallup study finds that women are more concerned about COVID-19 than men, a difference that transcends party lines. This female perspective towards the pandemic may be overlooked due to the underrepresentation of women in the workplace that is compounded by an underrepresentation in politics, creating what the researchers refer to as a representational "double whammy" effect. The study's findings are published in Politics & Gender.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-women-covid-men.html

Ants adapt tool use to avoid drowning

Researchers have observed black imported fire ants using sand to draw liquid food out of containers, when faced with the risk of drowning. This is the first time this sophisticated tool use has been reported in animals. These findings are published in the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-ants-tool.html

The good cough and the bad cough

Researchers might be able to treat a troublesome cough in disease without disrupting the protective cough we need for optimal lung health, by targeting the different brain circuits involved. That's according to new research published this week in The Journal of Physiology.

Detecting SARS-CoV-2 in the environment

Researchers have outlined an approach to characterize and develop an effective environmental monitoring methodology for SARS CoV-2 virus, that can be used to better understand viral persistence in built environments. The investigators from 7 institutions published their research this week in mSystems, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Built environment refers to the human-made environment that provides the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from buildings to cities and beyond.

New algorithm sharpens focus of world's most powerful microscopes

We've all seen that moment in a cop TV show where a detective is reviewing grainy, low-resolution security footage, spots a person of interest on the tape, and nonchalantly asks a CSI technician to "enhance that." A few keyboard clicks later, and voila—they've got a perfect, clear picture of the suspect's face. This, of course, does not work in the real world, as many film critics and people on the internet like to point out.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-algorithm-sharpens-focus-world-powerful.html

Pollinator monitoring more than pays for itself

Monitoring schemes to count bees and other pollinating insects provide excellent value for money, and could help save species and protect UK food security, researchers have found.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-pollinator.html